Kuzul

With all the talk with the Rangers lately about re-signing Cy Young Pitcher Cliff Lee lately, one fact has surfaced lately— it will cost an arm and a leg to sign him to a long-term contract.

So with that said, the Rangers are believed to be looking to shed some salary in an attempt to have funds available to sign Lee. It appears third baseman Michael Young may be their prime candidate for trade as a result according to Fox Sports Columnist Ken Rosenthal.

Young, who recently signed a five year extension with the Rangers worth $80 million, which will keep him with the ball-club until 2013.

On the surface, Young’s contract is a tad pricey, but in the grand scheme of things, with the free agent market today, Young’s contract in comparison to other free agents available (Adrian Beltre), seems just about right.

A .300 career hitter, Young was the AL batting champion in 2005 at .331 while hammering 24 home runs and adding 91 RBI’s, and was the All-Star game MVP in 2006.

Last season, young enjoyed a sub-par year by his standards only hitting .284 with 21 home runs and 91 RBI’s.

Two years ago Young moved from shortstop over to third base for the incumbent Elvis Andrus, and Young never missed a beat with the move. A career .978 fielder, Young at third is a .960 career defender, compare that to Adrian Beltre, a gold glove third baseman himself, is a .957 career fielder.

While Young’s contract is ugly to say the least, it’s nothing the Jays and their new found owner Rogers can’t afford.

Having dropped significant salary this summer, the Jays are in line to add some salary to make up for the players that left them so far (Lyle Overbay, Edwin Encarnacion, Scott Downs and so on).

With a no-trade clause in his contract, it remains to be seen whether Young would waive his clause if he were traded to Toronto, but his strong relationship with friend and Jays center-fielder Vernon Wells could have a huge say in what he does.

What would it cost the Jays to get Young?

It looks like they will definitely be wanting pitching and catching, which the Jays have in droves. While Young is a great player, he’s already 34 years old and may be on the decline, so giving away too much young talent seems unlikely for any major league team.

The Rangers could agree to a deal if they got a good catcher and a decent pitching prospect. Maybe a deal centered around Carlos Perez and Henderson Alvarez could be enough for the Rangers to bite. It also could be a massive overpay for the Blue Jays as well. I’ve never been a fan of predicting deals like this because you don’t know what the GM’s are thinking.

The one fact remains— Young’s professional bat and good defence would be a welcomed addition at third, but especially in the batting lineup which really lacks any consistent contact hitters outside of Yunel Escobar.

It’s up to Anthopolous now if he believes Young would be a good fit on this team if he is indeed available.

Thoughts on a potential Michael Young to Toronto deal? Let me know.

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This is a position that the Texas Rangers are all too familiar with. It’s a position they’ve been in through their first two postseason series, and they’ll play the role one more time.

What is that role, you ask? It’s being the underdog.

When the Rangers made it to the postseason, no one expected them to get past the Tampa Bay Rays let alone be the American League Champions. They weren’t supposed to beat the Rays, and they sure weren’t given a snowball’s chance in hell against the defending champion New York Yankees.

Once the Rangers had knocked off the Rays in the American League Divisional Series, the New York media started its onslaught of entitlement. A few of which actually put the Yankees in the World Series before they had even met the Rangers in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

After the Yankees came back and won Game 1 after trailing most of the night, most of the fans here in Texas thought every bit of momentum from that game was gone, and the series could be over all too soon.

While some might have counted them out after the first night, the Rangers weren’t counting themselves out, and they proved it over the next five games. Finally putting them down for good in Game 6, Texas sent the defending champions home for the ninth time in 10 years.

Much to the chagrin of the media that didn’t expect a thing from the Rangers or the ones that expected them to lay down and let the Yankees walk all over them, it was the Yankees that watched another team celebrate.

Now, after playing the underdog for two straight series, they’ll be in the position one more time, but this time it comes in the World Series against the National League Champion San Francisco Giants.

The team from the Bay Area finished off a 4-2 series win over another heavily favored team, the Philadelphia Phillies.

They have young pitchers in Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain. Three guys who can shut down just about any team they face.

Most will talk about how the Giants shut down the Phillies offense, but even they pale in comparison to either the Yankees or the Rangers. So far this postseason, the Phillies had a team batting average of .215, a 45 point drop from their .260 combined batting average during the regular season.

But, say what you want about the Phillies, the Giants offense wasn’t much better, dropping 26 points from the regular season (.257) to the postseason (.231).

On the flip side of the coin, the Texas Rangers picked up right where they left off from the regular season. They led all of baseball in team batting average (.276), only dropping three points during the postseason (.273).

When Vladimir Guerrero wasn’t hitting, they got big hits from Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Bengie Molina and Nelson Cruz. But, whey needed Guerrero the most, he came through in Game 6 with a clutch two-run double before Cruz put the game away for good.

They have guys who can come up big at any given time. They have a lineup that has speed up front with Elvis Andrus, power in the middle with Guerrero, Hamilton and Cruz, and role players who can pick up the slack with Ian Kinsler, Molina and David Murphy.

The one thing that you can count on being thrown out are “historic stats” between the two teams like ESPN’s Buster Olney has already done this morning. It’s inevitable that people will find some way to make their team look like the favorite in the days leading up to Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night.

But, no matter how many stats we want to throw out and no matter who has or hasn’t done well in the past against this pitcher, we saw how history worked out for the Yankees in the ALCS. They had owned the Rangers in the past, but the past doesn’t always translate to the present.

Where this game will be won is on the hill. The Rangers were ninth in baseball in team ERA (3.93) during the regular season and have been nothing short of dominant in the postseason, putting up a combined 2.40 ERA.

The Rangers are expected to have Cliff Lee in Game 1 followed by C.J. Wilson in Game 2 and either Colby Lewis or Tommy Hunter in Game 3 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

For the Giants, they are most likely to go with Tim Lincecum in Game 1, Jonathan Sanchez in Game 2 and Matt Cain in Game 3.

Let’s get to the heart of what this World Series is really all about. CBS Sports’ Gregg Doyel spelled this out in a brilliant manner and far better than I ever could. This is a World Series between two mid-majors, if you forgive the college football pun.

The Yankees are out as are the Phillie,s and the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to quit with two months left in the season.

The media isn’t salivating over the pinstripes; they don’t get to talk about their crush on Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter for at least another three months and change. They can’t stand that. Who is going to watch a World Series between two teams who actually earned, not bought, their way onto the biggest stage in baseball?

This guy.

It’s a series that will feature some of the best pitching baseball has to offer. It will also feature a guy you can’t help but love (Josh Hamilton), a guy with a beard that continues to get darker by the day (Brian Wilson), a guy who will get a World Series ring no matter who wins (Bengie Molina), and arguably one of the worst, or best depending on how you look at it, haircuts you’ll ever see (Tim Lincecum).

These are two good teams with a bunch of guys who you won’t hate nearly as much as those who hate the Yankees.

There is no Alex Rodriguez type arrogance, there are no Nick Swisher type barrages of ‘f’ bombs to explain their feelings about facing Cliff Lee, and there will be no home made signs that say “Can’t we just sign both Lee and Hamilton,” caught by the TBS cameras while in New York.

The Rangers and Giants don’t have the best players money can buy. These two teams have the kind of talent that makes a World Series worth watching.

The glass slipper could be the most overrated symbol in all of sports. But, we love to root for the underdog don’t we? Well, at least most of us do.

For both cities, this is as big as it gets because neither city has much to root for when it comes to football. The Giants and Rangers are saving the NFL fans who are suffering by having to watch two lackluster football teams. The Cowboys and 49ers are a combined 2-9 so far this season. Yeah, it’s not been a good year for them.

Whether you think the networks will hate this World Series, you can bet that both AT&T Park and the Ballpark in Arlington will be sold out for every game that takes place at each respective stadium. These fans are chomping at the bit for Game 1, and they are ready for a World Series Championship to be brought home to their town.

For the Texas Rangers, this will be the defining moment for their franchise. They have been through an ownership change, they’ve been through slumps, the ineffectiveness of Scott Feldman and Rich Harden and jubilation when they acquired Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners.

This is a solid group of guys. Every single one has come up with a big hit during this postseason, every single one has done what the team required of them to get this far.

They’ve knocked off the best the American League had to offer. Now, they are just four wins away from their first ever World Series title.

The team’s mantra, “It’s Time,” has held true all season long. They have one more hurdle to clear and they’ve come too far to lose now.

The Texas Rangers, and their fans, believe it’s their time. They’re ready to celebrate in Arlington, a celebration that, for the first time, won’t have anything to do with the Dallas Cowboys.

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The hit television show “Glee” has dominated Fox for the past year, but this October Cliff Lee, or “Clee,” as one site likes to call him, looks to take over Fox. 

Before the game in which Cliff Lee last pitched, Cliff Lee facts were trending on Twitter (#cleefacts). Some of the facts were ridiculous, such as “Cy Young won five Cliff Lee Awards” and “Neftali Feliz does not have to come to the game when Cliff Lee pitches, because Cliff Lee needs no closer.”

Here was my personal favorite: “Cliff Lee’s wife does not flirt with him, because no one hits on Cliff Lee.” These jokes were made all in good fun before the game, seeming more like hyperbole than fact. Then the game started and suddenly some of those “facts” looked more like the truth.

Cliff Lee dominated the Yankees, and the “facts kept coming.” This prompted one site, Cleefacts.com to begin to market the Clee Facts, and post them on to a site.

As a personal friend of the creators of the site, here are some facts you need to know about the widespread phenomenon that is CleeFacts. Clee Facts started out as knock off jokes of the Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer jokes that we have already heard a thousand times. They quickly grew into more baseball jokes until they were a huge hit with Rangers fans, Cliff Lee fans and baseball fans alike.

Here is a brief overview of the site that is quickly becoming very popular. I briefly spoke to two of the site creators today. Jorge Parrales and Jacob Herrera gave me a quick rundown of the site.

Cleefacts.com is a place that you can go and see your favorite facts about Cliff Lee, and even submit some yourself. At the bottom of the front page on the site, you can enter your name, email and an original Clee Fact, to receive credit for it on the site.

Each week the site will be running a contest to see who can come up with the best Clee Fact. The winner of the Contest each week will receive a free “I Heart Clee” T-shirt, as seen below. These very popular t-shirts, are selling like crazy, and are available for order on the site, for only $20. 

Clee Facts are becoming more and more popular each time Cliff Lee pitches. Go to Cleefacts.com and submit your own Clee Fact, or order a “I Heart Clee” t-shirt.

The next time Cliff Lee pitches, you do not want to be the only one without an “I Heart Clee” shirt.

This will be the next “Claw” and “Antlers” fad for all you Rangers fans.

“Clee Facts,” the facts about the most interesting man in baseball.

I will leave you with one more fact. “Cliff Lee was just banned from baseball for being a performance enhancing drug #CleeFacts.”

All you Rangers fans, Go and check out Cleefacts.com, or follow them on twitter at @Cleefacts to get all the latest info on our star pitcher.

For questions regarding the article, please comment or send me an e-mail.

Paul Ferguson is an intern at Bleacher Report.

Paul is the director of NFL Content at Premier Sports Talk

Visit Clee Facts

Follow him on twitter at: @paulwall5

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The 2010 baseball season will long be remembered as the year the Rangers made history.  I can only hope that one day someone will see the need to recreate it all on the movie screen.  During a season which will become almost mythical in Texas Rangers lore, two simple yet obscure clubhouse gestures were born.
 
From the stands or watching at home on TV you would see Michael Young give a quick swipe in the air, his up-turned, open fist mimicking a bear claw, after a base hit.  He aims it only at his dugout to the delight of his waiting teammates, who are strung about and hanging with anticipation over the protective railing of the dugout.  His mates quickly echo his silent cry by a show of arms in a return salute: all raise a paw in the air.
 
When Elvis Andres has safely stolen a base a new salute is seen—he puts both hands to his head with fingers spread to resemble deer antlers.  He looks only for his teammates’ approval as they echo his movement.

It doesn’t really matter who actually started these silent signals—the Rangers fans fell in love with the way the team encouraged one another with the “Claw and Antlers” and were quick to encourage their deserving team.
 
In the beginning of the season the Rangers players tried hard to keep the meaning of the “Claw and Antlers” solely within the confines of their dugout and clubhouse, using them as a show of team solidarity and friendship among teammates.  Once the fans caught hold of the meaning of the gestures, we wanted in on the fun, too.
 
The Bear Claw became the symbol of strength and power—it was displayed after a base hit when a player safely reached base.  Even a successful sacrifice fly would earn a show of the claw.  We, the fans, would shower the Claw on our pitchers making that punch-out, strike-out happen, too.
 
The Antlers simply mean speed and agility—they are earned by stretching a base run into extra bases or a by stealing a base.  Ranger fielders would be rewarded the Antler by the fans in the stands for a heads-up play on defense.
 
To those of us faithfully following the Rangers throughout this season, it didn’t take very long to figure out what these hand waves were all about. Before the end of the season, the “Claw and Antlers” would be our rally cry which would see our Texas Rangers to their first postseason victory. 
 
Near the end of the season, during the last series with the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers released a t-shirt emblazoned with the two hand signals. The workers at the Rangers Majestic store could not keep up with the demand for these shirts.  I personally saw fans mobbing clerks  who were trying to re-stock the depleted shelves, taking the shirts right out of their hands and leaving them standing empty-handed.       
 
The Texas Rangers have long been known as the whipping boys, the floor-mates, and called the farm program by the rest of the MLB.  The 2010 season finally put an end to the team’s tormented drought and will go a long way to heal the sufferings of their devoted fans. 
 
And under the new ownership of Nolan Ryan, the Texas Rangers are serving notice to the rest of the league, not just by their great on-field play, but by announcing that the Farm is close to the rest of the league.  The Rangers’ front office is making big plans after this season to do all they can to keep as many of our players as possible—they have truly taken us to new heights this season. 

With the leadership of Skipper Ron Washington, the Rangers are making their first-ever appearance in the American League Conference Series.  No matter the outcome now—win or lose—every game is history in the making, as this Rangers team continues to go where no Rangers team has gone before.

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Nearly 50 years of baseball. The last 39 of those years in Arlington. One of only three teams to have never been to the World Series. The Texas Rangers were not exactly a team with a rich tradition. However, when B.J. Upton popped out to left center to end the ninth inning, Texas fans finally had reason to celebrate.

If someone had said back in April that the Texas Rangers would be playing the New York Yankees for the American League pennant and a potential World Series berth, many would have laughed in their face. From Ron Washington‘s admission of cocaine use to the bankruptcy problems that have plagued the front office, the Rangers didn’t look like a team bound for October baseball.

Luckily for the boys in red, white, and blue, things don’t always turn out like predicted.

Nolan Ryan and Ron Washington managed to find a way to put the distractions aside and lead the team to a 90 win season. From the resurgence of Vladimir Guerrero to stealing former Mariner Cliff Lee away from the Yankees right before the trade deadline, the front office made all of the right moves to give this team a chance to win. Even without potential MVP Josh Hamilton down the stretch, destiny had a plan for these Rangers.

When the Rangers clinched the West division title for the first time since 1999 in late September, long-time Ranger Michael Young finally got his first taste of the postseason. It only took a little over 1,500 games. As great as it felt to finally have the chance to play baseball deep into October, this team wasn’t simply willing to settle with a playoff berth; this team wanted playoff victories.

After the Tampa Bay Rays won the American League East, the Rangers knew that victory wasn’t going to be easy. They would be going on the road to face the team with the league’s best record at 96-66. Most experts weren’t giving them much of a chance to make it past the divisional series.

Cliff Lee and company had other plans.

After Lee dominated the Tampa Bay Rays during game one on the road, the fans in Arlington had reason to hope. Then there was C.J. Wilson’s two-hit gem in game two. The boys from Arlington were headed home with a 2-0 series lead and a chance to get that coveted series victory that had eluded them since their inception as the Washington Senators in 1961.

Unfortunately, after shutting down the Rays lineup in the first two games, things began to unravel in Texas. The Rangers’ bullpen gave up five runs in the final two innings of game three and went on to lose 6-3. Things didn’t go any better in game four as the Rays jumped ahead by five runs and went on to win 5-2 and even the series at two games apiece. 

With the momentum clearly on the Rays side going into game five in St. Petersburg, many teams would have let the pressure get to them. Not these Texas Rangers. Not with Cliff Lee on the mound for game five.

Lee continued the postseason brilliance he has been known for his entire career. After a complete game where he only allowed one run and struck out 11, the Texas Rangers are moving on to the ALCS to face the New York Yankees.

Don’t count this team out. Ranger fans haven’t forgotten the first round eliminations at the hands of the Yankees in 1996, 1998, and 1999. With Cliff Lee, C.J. Wilson, and Colby Lewis anchoring the rotation, and Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, and Vlad Guerrero providing the offense, competing with the bloated payroll of the evil empire won’t be a problem.

When the Yankees come to Arlington on Friday night, don’t expect the Rangers to back down. These Rangers are out for blood.

After nearly a half century wait, these Texas Rangers are different. Not only do they want to win, but they expect to win. It’s time to bring a pennant home. It’s time to give the loyal Ranger fans what they’ve been waiting for since 1961. Bring on the Yankees!

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The Texas Rangers are looking for their first playoff series win in franchise history, and last week, it looked like they would get it. The Rangers took games one and two in commanding fashion, giving up only one run. Starting pitchers Cliff Lee, and C.J. Wilson dominated both games, leading Rangers fans to think a sweep was in order. The sweep, however would not be so, leading 2-1 in the late innings of game 3, Ron Washington made some questionable decisions with the bullpen, and they could not finish the job, losing 6-2.

In game four, the Rangers could never get going and they were dominated by the Rays 5-2. The bats of star hitters, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero have been nonexistent this series. The trio, who were expected to lead the Rangers to victory, have been nowhere to be found.

The Rangers missed an opportunity to close out the series at home, and now must return to Tropicana Field to close out the first series win in franchise history.

Here are four reasons why Rangers fans should be confident of a win in game five.

1. The Play of Elvis Andrus.

This is a strange way to start off this list, Andrus does not hit for power, has never played in a post season, and is only a second year starter. How can he possibly be a factor in the Rangers winning in game five? The answer is Andrus has been nothing short of spectacular in this series.

He is batting .316 in this series with though he only has one RBI. He has been a force on the base paths, stealing bases, forcing the Rays to make bad throws, and generating run producing innings. He has done an outstanding job at the lead-off position, working high pitch counts to start the game, and making things happen for the Rangers.

In the field, he has also been outstanding, making spectacular plays that belong on the highlight reel, as well as making numerous plays to save runs.

If he can keep this up in game five, the 22 year old will be a main part of why the Rangers will win their first division series in franchise history.

2. Josh Hamilton Remembers How to Hit.

Josh Hamilton had an MVP regular season. He posted a .359 batting average, with 32 Home Runs, and 100 RBI’s. Hamilton is the main reason for the Rangers first post season birth in eleven years as he’s been fantastic. His play in the field was great, and he has had several game saving plays, both in the field and at the plate.

In the post season, however, Josh Hamilton is no where to be found. If the Rangers are going to win this series, Josh Hamilton will have to play a major role in game five.

Josh Hamilton has put this team on his back and led them to victory before. Trailing 8-2 against the Red Sox on August 13, Hamilton put the Rangers on his back in a way never seen before. He made plays in the field, at the plate, and on the base paths in a game the Rangers would win 10-9.

Hamilton needs to have another take over game if the Rangers are to win game five.

3. Cliff Lee.

Cliff Lee is Mr. October. He has never lost a post-season game, going 5-0 in his short, but very successful career in the playoffs. Last year with the Phillies, Lee won both World Series games that he started, but the Phillies would still lose the series 4-2. Should the Rangers win and face the Yankees, Cliff Lee boasts a 6-1 record with a 2.76 ERA against the Bronx Bombers since 2007.

In the post season, there is no one else you would rather have on the mound than Cliff Lee, and the Rangers are starting him in game five. This is the reason the Rangers traded for Lee in the first place. The Rangers are in a win or go home situation facing elimination, and they will hand the game ball to Cliff Lee and say “put us on your back.”

Cliff Lee beat the Rays and all star pitcher David Price in game one. If Lee can do it again, the Rangers will be headed to their first American League Championship series in franchise history.

4. Cliff Lee, Again.

When you just get down to it, the fate of this game rest solely in the hands of Cliff Lee. If he brings his usual playoff stuff, the Rays can kiss their season goodbye. If however, Lee does not shown up in the post season for the first time ever, the Rangers will be looking at yet another one and done.

Rangers fans should have faith though, because when has Cliff Lee not been ready for a post season game?

The ball is in your hands Cliff Lee.

The Rangers put all of their hope in you.

For questions regarding the article please comment, or send me an E-mail.

Paul Ferguson is an intern at bleacher report.

Follow him on twitter at: @paulwall5

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I don’t claim to have watched every game this postseason, due to the unfortunate  condition of having things to do during the day. And yet, somehow, I’ve managed to see many, many blown calls. This is rather alarming, seeing as MLB lacks any process to review these mistakes. 

You may have heard of some of them. There was the ball that Yankee’s right  fielder Greg Golson trapped before it could even bounce (a feat that I bet few Hall of Famers could lay claim to). There was the three-run home run Ranger’s third basemen Michael Young hit after swinging and missing with two strikes (the only play here that I haven’t seen).

There was Giants catcher Buster Posey scoring the only run in Tim Lincecum’s gem, despite being tagged while stealing second earlier. I would even add Phillie’s second baseman Chase Utley‘s trip around the bases in Friday night’s game. 

I’m a little skeptical that Utley got hit by Aroldis Chapman in the seventh inning. I would have to say that my suspicions were aroused when Utley managed to show absolutely no reaction to apparently getting nicked in the fingers by a 102 mph fastball (I’m guessing fingers; if you forced me to guess what part of the body he was hit on based on his reaction, I’d have to guess “personal space bubble”).

Chase, here’s some advice: in a couple of weeks, you’re going to get some time off. Get some acting lessons in that time in case this situation arise again. That performance looked like Keanu Reeves next to Derek Jeter’s Shatner-esque show a few weeks ago. 

I would also love to see the following play at second again, but apparently, TBS has taken the Division Series-wide stance of “Maybe if we ignore the close plays, they’ll go away.” We got two camera views following the original play, one of them apparently taken from the cell phone of a drunk fan standing on an building adjacent to the stadium (just my two cents).

TBS, some more advice: don’t be afraid to show close plays repeatedly. People love to have something to be angry about. Especially anything involving the Yankees or Red Sox in any way. 

In any case, Bud Selig has apparently decided that the adage “Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it” is actually an Ancient Phoenician curse never meant to be heard by the ears of man.

After ignoring calls for more instant replay after last year’s playoffs (and last year’s regular season, and the Armando Galarraga game, and the Phillies-Marlins game, and…), Selig has continued to ignore calls for more replay (shocker, I know), claiming he hasn’t heard anyone close to the game request more replay.

For his sake, we’re not going to go too in depth with that claim; he doesn’t need anymore help to look dumb (although, in Bud’s defense, maybe those close to him have assumed that the need for replay was obvious and that Bud didn’t need THAT much help to make such a leap). 

Look, whatever your reasoning is, Bud, it’s not funny anymore. We can put a fifth umpire in the booth to review any close plays, and it won’t slow down the game (especially compared to the time a manager takes to come out and argue). It doesn’t even have to be strikes and balls, it can just be close plays on the field.

 I don’t really know what’s holding this up. Do you think umpires don’t deserve the right to correct their mistakes? Is it some crippling case of technophobia? I mean, you’re looking worse than my grandfather, and he didn’t know you had to delete e-mails to save space UNTIL THIS YEAR. He even STILL uses his VCR because he can’t figure out how to work a DVD player. This is pitiful. Or maybe this is the cause of some wild bet with Murray Chass to see just how fast you can turn people against you? 

Whatever, the case, you can’t just continue to ignore the problem. Maybe you can say “the bad calls even out over the whole season”. That’s because the regular season consists of somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 bajillion plays.

The playoffs aren’t that forgiving. Any one play can alter who wins the game, or even the series, and guess what? There aren’t enough games to say it’ll even out later. What is it going to take, a blown call that affects which team wins the World Series? 

Oh, wait…

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Now we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, not quite yet. With a two games to none advantage in the American League Division Series battle against the Tampa Bay Rays, the mood surrounding this Rangers ballclub is rather positive. After comprehensively beating the Rays in the first two games, on the road no less, this Texas ballclub is brimming with confidence.

For a team that was viewed as underdogs by many against whichever AL East foe they faced, the Rangers appear remarkably in control of the series that they find themselves involved in. With a 5-1 opening victory over leading Cy Young candidate David Price, led by a dominant Cliff Lee, the foundation was laid. Backing that up with a similarly impressive outing by C.J. Wilson, augmented by a potent offensive attack, Texas is looking like a force to be reckoned with.

A franchise traditionally associated with powerful, slugger-laden offenses, the Texas Rangers finally appear to have discovered that the key to greater success is a well-rounded club capable in all facets of the game.

Thus far in the ALDS, this new team philosophy appears to be reaping its rewards. No longer a one-dimensional club, the Rangers have constructed a team centered on its strong pitching, but still able to slug with the best of them. These primary strengths are complemented by efficient base-running and solid defense to give this Texas team a multidimensional attack less susceptible to being easily shut down.

Starting Pitching

As everyone should now by now, success in baseball always starts with strong starting pitching. The Rangers were a club rarely associated with dominant pitching through the years.  Team president Nolan Ryan has worked tirelessly to reverse that perception and his hard work is paying dividends.  Led by its two lefties, Cliff Lee, the highly-coveted ace, imported from the Seattle Mariners in a June trade, and C.J. Wilson, a homegrown talent converted from a late-game relief specialist to a starter just last offseason, the Rangers find themselves in good hands.

Cliff Lee was brought here specifically to lead the rotation into the playoffs, in their quest to reach the World Series for the first time in franchise history. His impressive postseason resume from 2009 was one of his primary attractions, and he lived up to the hype as well as he could in his Rangers postseason debut.

Pitching in hostile territory in Florida, Cliff Lee set the tone for the series with his dominant Game 1 start. The stoic lefty ran into trouble in the first inning, allowing three singles in the first four batters to load the bases, a less than confidence inducing start to the proceedings. However, he quickly recovered to strike out Carlos Pena and Rocco Baldelli, stranding the bases loaded. That would be the last trouble he would face for the remainder of the game. After the first, Lee would allow only two other hits, a second inning double to Ben Zobrist, and a solo home run, also to Zobrist, in the the seventh inning while the Rangers already led comfortably 5-0.

His impeccable command was on display once again, as he became the first American League pitcher to strike out 10 batters in a playoff game while not walking a single hitter. It has only occurred seven times in MLB history, and Cliff Lee has now accomplished the feat three times, twice last year with the Phillies. Overall, Lee pitched seven innings, allowing five hits, no walks, with 10 strikeouts, exceeding the Rangers wildest hopes.

Following Cliff’s lead, C.J. Wilson offered his own highly dominant performance to further deflate the hopes of a stunned Tampa Bay Rays club. After allowing a lead-off single to Jason Bartlett to start the game, Wilson didn’t allow another hit until the bottom of the seventh inning. In between, he walked two hitters, but that would be all he would permit to reach base in his 6.1 innings of work, while striking out seven Rays. If he is able to consistently pitch like that following Lee, the Rangers like their chances against anyone in baseball. The baton is now passed to Colby Lewis to keep the train rolling in Saturday’s Game 3.

Relief Pitching

When your first two starting pitchers in a series pitch deep into the game, both reaching at least the seventh inning, it greatly reduces the stress on your bullpen. That’s precisely how any manager draws it up, a deep, effective starting performance, then hand the ball over to your elite relief arms. No messing with questionable middle relief, no stressful decisions on which relievers to use. You want your starters to transition seamlessly into your best setup men, then directly to the closer. Simple.

After two games in the ALDS, Ron Washington has been able to do just that. Thanks to his dominant starting pitchers, he has only needed to use his most reliable bullpen arms for a total of 4.2 innings. Both Darren O’Day and Darren Oliver have pitched in each game, with Oliver pitching three innings, allowing no hits and one walk, while striking out two. O’Day has face three batters, allowing a single, but striking out the other two. Closer Neftali Feliz was used in Game 1 to finish off the opening victory. He made it interesting to start the ninth, walking the first two hitters, but then retired Ben Zobrist on a liner to right and struck out the last two hitters to preserve the win. Order was restored.

No one can predict if the Rangers’ starters will continually work into the seventh inning as they have thus far, but even if they don’t, Ron Washington has a handful of reliable arms to hand the ball to late in games.

Offensive Production

A team usually doesn’t count on their run production increasing in the postseason when you’re facing the best pitching staffs in the game, but that’s precisely what the Rangers have done over the first two games of the ALDS. After averaging 4.86 runs per game in the regular season, placing fourth amongst American League clubs, the Rangers have increased that rate to 5.5 runs per game with 11 runs scored in the series thus far. Of course, it’s only a two game sample, but that bodes well for a team making its first playoff appearance since 1999, proving that they won’t wilt under the glare of the bright lights in October.

Through two games, the Rangers are balancing their strong pitching performances with a robust offensive attack, making it difficult to key in on any specific weak point in their game. Shutting down the opposition and scoring runs, the two primary aspects of a successful baseball team.

Thus far, the Rangers are tied with the Yankees with their 11 runs scored, are second to New York in total hits, have hit the most home runs of any playoff team, and have the highest slugging percentage in the postseason. Possibly the most encouraging sign for the Rangers is that they have accomplished that all on the road, where they struggled to a 39-42 record during the regular season. Many wondered if the team could hit enough away from Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to win crucial road games. Well, the team has stepped up and answered that question emphatically.

Also encouraging is that the Rangers are producing offensively, and they haven’t yet gotten a lot out of their two biggest hitters, Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero. It has been a balanced attack, seeing four different players hit a home run each, with six different hitters collecting an RBI. This bodes well for the team going forward. If opposition is able to focus in on a couple of key hitters, it makes it much easier to stifle an offense, but if you never know where the damage is coming from, each batter is a critical situation for your opponents’ pitching staff.

Looking Ahead

With home-field now secured for the remainder of the ALDS, the Rangers are in prime position to advance beyond the Division Series for the first time in club history. The Rangers are a much more potent offensive club at home in Arlington than on the road, and will look to put the Rays out of their misery in the next two games. Texas was 51-30 at home this year, so heading back to Rangers Ballpark to try to conclude the series should bolster the team’s confidence even further. Although the Rangers don’t want to look too far beyond Game 3 on Saturday, their advance scouts have their eyes on their potential ALCS foes, with the Yankees looming as favorites to advance alongside Texas. If that matchup eventually occurs, it would represent an opportunity for the Rangers to exorcise their franchise’s playoff demons against the only team they have ever faced in the postseason, a team that has defeated Texas in three consecutive playoff series dating back to 1996.

Like I said, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves just yet though. For now, let’s look forward just to Saturday’s Game 3 in Arlington as the Rangers will look to finish off the Tampa Bay Rays as quickly as possible, and then we can start making arrangements for the American League Championship Series.

Please check out further coverage of the Rangers’ Playoff action and analysis of their postseason aspirations by Scott Gyurina.

MLB Playoff Predictions: Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays Positional Match-ups

Texas Rangers Pitching Well-Armed For Deep Playoff Run

Texas Rangers: How They Can Beat the Yankees In the Postseason

Texas Rangers’ 3 Biggest Question Marks Heading Into Postseason Action

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Statistics can prove anything, but more often than not, they mean nothing. I enjoy bits of trivia, not because I want to win a bet with my friends, but because they can shed light on trends and highlight new things. As a baseball fan and sports junkie, I love hearing something and saying, “Wow, I never knew that.”

Keeping that in mind, here are a collection of stats, facts, and notes about your American League playoff teams, thanks to Elias Sports Bureau, SABR, press officers, and media reps. Enjoy the information overload.

New York Yankees

Sweep Dreams

The Yankees enter postseason play as a Wild Card team for the fourth time (also 1995, 1997 and 2007), but they have never advanced to the ALCS when entering the playoffs in this fashion. However, if they sweep the Twins, it is pretty good news for Joe Girardi’s men because the Yanks have won the World Series each of the three times they have swept in the division series.

The Men With the Golden Gloves

The Yankees led the majors with a .988 fielding pct., their best mark ever for a season. 2B Robinson Cano (.996) and SS Derek Jeter (.989) became the first set of teammates to finish a season as the fielding leaders at SS and 2B (in either league) since Omar Vizquel/Roberto Alomar for Cleveland in 2001, and the first Yankees to accomplish the feat since Phil Rizzuto/Jerry Coleman in 1949.

The Yankees’ primary infielders in 2010 (Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, Rodriguez) combined for a .994 fielding percentage. Their 27 combined errors were the fewest or any Major League team at those positions.

Home Field Advantage

The Yankees became the second team among baseball’s current 30 franchises, to advance to the postseason in each of the first two seasons in their current stadium, joining Atlanta (1997-98 at Turner Field).

Rising to the Occasion

Derek Jeter has reached base safely via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 48 of 53 career Division Series games, and 122 of his all-time record 138 career postseason contests.

Slap Happy

Lance Berkman owns a .321 (34-for-106) career postseason batting average, the fourth-highest mark among all active players, and he has hit safely in 11 of his 12 career postseason games, including 10 straight from Game 3 of the 2001 NLDS through Game 4 of the 2004 NLCS.

Backstop Longevity

According to Elias, Jorge Posada is the first player to catch at least one game with the same team in 16 straight seasons, since Johnny Bench with Cincinnati (17 consecutive seasons, 1967-83).

Minnesota Twins

Starting off on the Right Foot

Manager Ron Gardenhire is the first manager to guide his team into the postseason in six of his first nine seasons as a Major League Manager. Sparky Anderson and Earl Weaver did it in five of their first eight seasons.

New Ballpark, New Fortunes?

The Twins are the 13th team to go to the playoffs in their first year in a new ballpark. They join the 2009 and 1923 Yankees, 2006 Cardinals, 2000 Giants, 1997 Braves, 1995 Rockies, 1989 Blue Jays, 1970 Pirates and Reds, 1912 Red Sox, 1911 Giants, and 1909 Pirates.

Elite Club

Francisco Liriano is making his first career postseason start Wednesday night, and he becomes the fourth different Twins pitcher to make a Game 1 start in the ALDS following Brad Radke, Santana three times, and Brian Duensing. Speaking of Liriano, he did not allow a home run in 96.1 consecutive innings pitched from May 20-Aug.18. It was the second-longest streak in Twins history, behind Bert Blyleven’s 99.0 innings from 1974-1975.

Tampa Bay Rays

A Bizarre Playoff Rule Change?

On Monday the American League approved a change to the Tropicana Field ground rules, effective for the 2010 postseason. Under the new rule, a batted ball that strikes either of the two upper catwalks, lights or suspended objects above fair territory, is a dead ball (and no pitch). Previously, balls that struck the upper catwalks, lights or suspended objects above fairground, were in play.

SI Stardom

David Price is featured on the cover of today’s playoff issue of Sports Illustrated. He is the third Ray (first by himself), to be featured on the magazine’s cover – Carl Crawford was on the cover as a cartoon with the Yankees on May 26, 2008, and Rocco Baldelli shared the cover with Carlos Ruiz of the Phillies on November 3, 2008.

Statistically Speaking

The Rays became the second Major League team since 1900 to score 800 runs (802) while hitting .250 or less (.247). The other team was the 1991 Tigers (.247, 87 runs). In addition, the Rays 1,292 strikeouts were the most ever by an AL or NL team that advanced to the postseason. Want more junk? How about the fact that the Rays were the only Major League team in 2010 to have five pitchers qualify for the ERA title (minimum 162 IP).

Crawford is That Good

No player in the modern era since 1900 has matched his combination of homers (19), triples (13), batting average (.307) and stolen bases (47).

Rookie Dropping the Signs

Rookie John Jaso batted leadoff in 45 games, 41 as catcher. According to Baseball Reference, only two players in history have started as many games catching and batting leadoff in one season since 1901. Jason Kendall and Rollie Hemsley are the others.

Pena’s Mendoza Line Power

Carlos Pena’s .196 average was lowest among all hitters who qualified for the batting title in 2010. It was the lowest by a player since Rob Deer hit .179 in 1991 for Detroit. His 28 homers rank third all time among players who hit under .200 in a season, joining Mark McGwire (.187/29 in 2001) and Mark Reynolds (.198/32 in 2010.)

Texas Rangers

Winner, Winner, Clinching Dinner

Texas clinched the division in its 154th game of 2010, the earliest that the Rangers have ever won a division title or sealed a playoff spot. The Rangers won the division by a club-record nine games, one game better than the previous largest margin from 1999.

A Long, Long Wait

Michael Young is appearing in his first postseason in his 10th year in the major league. He has appeared in 1,508 career regular season games, second most of any active player without a playoff appearance. The leader is Randy Winn (1,717 games) for those who care.

A First Time For Everything

Today’s game was the Rangers first postseason game on turf, in a dome, or in the daytime. It was also their first postseason game anywhere other than old Yankee Stadium or Rangers Ballpark, and it was the first time the opposing managers were anyone other than Johnny Oates and Joe Torre.

Wanted: Experienced Help

There are five Rangers who have appeared previously in postseason play. Darren Oliver is the only one to do it with the Rangers, when he appeared in the 1996 ALDS. He joins Jeff Francoeur (2005, Braves); Vlad Guerrero (2004, ’05, ’07, ’08, and ’09, Angels); Cliff Lee (2009, Phillies); and Bengie Molina (2002, ’04, ’05, Angels).

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With their thrilling 4-3 victory over the A’s in Oakland on Saturday, the Texas Rangers have finally made their long-awaited return to baseball’s promised land, earning their first postseason berth since 1999.

While it was nearly a foregone conclusion that they would eventually clinch the AL West, considering their significant division lead, nothing in baseball is ever set in stone until the other potential outcomes are mathematically eliminated. The Rangers were able to erase any lingering doubt, claiming the American League West division crown with a week’s worth of regular-season action remaining.

The ability to clinch with a week left should not be underestimated. Although their rotation has been set-up for postseason action for the last few weeks, the Rangers now don’t have to rely on dramatic “must-win” scenarios for at least a week, easing the burden on their staff.

Relievers can also be used judiciously, keeping them fresh for baseball’s “second season,” while still giving them the proper amount of work to keep them sharp and ready. Similarly, position players are now afforded the opportunity to heal their weary bodies, and opportunity that their opponents, Tampa or New York won’t have.

In baseball, it pays to adhere to the age-old cliches of “taking one day at a time” or “never looking beyond today’s game,” but now the Rangers can actually look ahead somewhat, with their clinching victory rendering the remainder of the regular season meaningless in terms of playoff ramifications.  

Texas knows that since the Rays and Yankees hail from the same division, they are unable to play each other in the first round of the divisional playoffs, so one must play the Rangers, and the other, the Twins.

Currently, with the Yankees and Rays embroiled in a tight division race, only separated by a half-game, the AL East battle is likely to go down to the final day of the season. As it stands today, the Rays lead the East with the best record in the league, and would therefore play the postseason entrant with the lowest winning percentage, the Rangers.

That could all change over next few days if the Tampa and New York were to exchange places in the East standings, in which case, the Rangers would then face the Yankees in the Division Series. Although the Yankees have been a strong team, and are the defending World Series champions, there are many factors that may contribute to that being a match-up that the Rangers would actually prefer, if given the choice.

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